IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i23p12462-d688780.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Information Sources on COVID-19-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) among University Students: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

Author

Listed:
  • Israa Baker

    (Al-Quds Medical Research Association, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem 510 00, Palestine
    Equal contribution as first authorship.)

  • Nizar Marzouqa

    (Al-Quds Medical Research Association, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem 510 00, Palestine
    Equal contribution as first authorship.)

  • Bashar Nafe’ Yaghi

    (Al-Quds Medical Research Association, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem 510 00, Palestine)

  • Samer Osama Adawi

    (Al-Quds Medical Research Association, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem 510 00, Palestine)

  • Shahd Yousef

    (Al-Quds Medical Research Association, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem 510 00, Palestine)

  • Tayseer Nedal Sabooh

    (Al-Quds Medical Research Association, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem 510 00, Palestine)

  • Nataly Mazen Salhab

    (Al-Quds Medical Research Association, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem 510 00, Palestine)

  • Hiba Mahmoud Khrishi

    (Al-Quds Medical Research Association, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem 510 00, Palestine)

  • Yahya Qabaja

    (Al-Quds Medical Research Association, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem 510 00, Palestine)

  • Abanoub Riad

    (Department of Public Health, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic)

  • Elham Kateeb

    (Oral Health Research and Promotion Unit, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem 510 00, Palestine)

  • Sameh Attia

    (Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Justus-Liebig-University, 353 92 Giessen, Germany)

Abstract

COVID-19 is an emerging respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus accompanied by a tsunami of misinformation and fake news. This can weaken the public health responses by affecting the COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of the public. Therefore, this cross-sectional study was designed during the early stage of the pandemic to evaluate the KAP of Palestinian university students and their commonly used information sources. We found that the most trusted information source among students was the World Health Organization (WHO), followed by the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) briefings and healthcare workers, whereas social media was the most frequently used source of information. The participants exhibited a high level of COVID-19-related knowledge, having an average score of 8.65 (range: 0–10). In total, 76% avoided going to crowded places, and only 33% wore a mask while being outdoors. The vast majority (93%) checked the accuracy of COVID-19-related information before publishing it, 56% used the WHO and MoH briefings for fact-checking, and only 8% relied on healthcare workers. This was particularly the case for those who lived in refugee camps. This study provides an insight into the information sources used by Palestinian university students, the sources they trust, and the information formats they prefer. These results may help public health authorities to locate the information sources through which university students should be targeted. Efforts should be made to recommend healthcare workers as credible information sources. In this way, they will be able to prevent the spread of misleading information and provide high-quality information, especially within unconventional settings such as refugee camps.

Suggested Citation

  • Israa Baker & Nizar Marzouqa & Bashar Nafe’ Yaghi & Samer Osama Adawi & Shahd Yousef & Tayseer Nedal Sabooh & Nataly Mazen Salhab & Hiba Mahmoud Khrishi & Yahya Qabaja & Abanoub Riad & Elham Kateeb & , 2021. "The Impact of Information Sources on COVID-19-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) among University Students: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-18, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:23:p:12462-:d:688780
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/23/12462/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/23/12462/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stephen Bok & Daniel E. Martin & Erik Acosta & Maria Lee & James Shum, 2021. "Validation of the COVID-19 Transmission Misinformation Scale and Conditional Indirect Negative Effects on Wearing a Mask in Public," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-23, October.
    2. Stephan Leitner & Bartosz Gula & Dietmar Jannach & Ulrike Krieg-Holz & Friederike Wall, 2021. "Understanding the dynamics emerging from infodemics: a call to action for interdisciplinary research," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 1-18, January.
    3. Michael Greenstone & Vishan Nigam, 2020. "Does Social Distancing Matter?," Working Papers 2020-26, Becker Friedman Institute for Research In Economics.
    4. Thunström, Linda & Newbold, Stephen C. & Finnoff, David & Ashworth, Madison & Shogren, Jason F., 2020. "The Benefits and Costs of Using Social Distancing to Flatten the Curve for COVID-19," Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(2), pages 179-195, July.
    5. Dolors Juvinyà-Canal & Rosa Suñer-Soler & Adela Boixadós Porquet & Marion Vernay & Hervé Blanchard & Carme Bertran-Noguer, 2020. "Health Literacy among Health and Social Care University Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-10, March.
    6. Nour Ammar & Nourhan M. Aly & Morenike Oluwatoyin Folayan & Yousef Khader & Simin Z. Mohebbi & Sameh Attia & Hans-Peter Howaldt & Sebastian Boettger & Jorma Virtanen & Marwa Madi & Diah A. Maharani & , 2021. "Perceived Preparedness of Dental Academic Institutions to Cope with the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multi-Country Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-15, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Abanoub Riad & Anton Drobov & Muhammad Abdullatif Alkasaby & Aleš Peřina & Michal Koščík, 2023. "Nuclear Anxiety Amid the Russian-Ukrainian War 2022 (RUW-22): Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-13, February.
    2. Abanoub Riad & Anton Drobov & Martin Krobot & Natália Antalová & Muhammad Abdullatif Alkasaby & Aleš Peřina & Michal Koščík, 2022. "Mental Health Burden of the Russian–Ukrainian War 2022 (RUW-22): Anxiety and Depression Levels among Young Adults in Central Europe," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-14, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. James K. Hammitt, 2020. "Valuing mortality risk in the time of COVID-19," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 129-154, October.
    2. Robert S. Pindyck, 2020. "COVID-19 and the Welfare Effects of Reducing Contagion," NBER Working Papers 27121, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Augeraud-Véron, Emmanuelle & Fabbri, Giorgio & Schubert, Katheline, 2021. "Prevention and mitigation of epidemics: Biodiversity conservation and confinement policies," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    4. Nicolò Gatti & Beatrice Retali, 2021. "Fighting the spread of Covid-19 : was the Swiss lockdown worth it?," IdEP Economic Papers 2101, USI Università della Svizzera italiana.
    5. Shenoy, Ajay & Sharma, Bhavyaa & Xu, Guanghong & Kapoor, Rolly & Rho, Haedong Aiden & Sangha, Kinpritma, 2022. "God is in the rain: The impact of rainfall-induced early social distancing on COVID-19 outbreaks," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    6. Nicolò Gatti & Beatrice Retali, 2021. "Saving lives during the COVID-19 pandemic: the benefits of the first Swiss lockdown," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, Springer;Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics, vol. 157(1), pages 1-21, December.
    7. Peter T. Leeson & Louis Rouanet, 2021. "Externality and COVID‐19," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 87(4), pages 1107-1118, April.
    8. Thomas J. Kniesner & Ryan Sullivan, 2020. "The forgotten numbers: A closer look at COVID-19 non-fatal valuations," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 155-176, October.
    9. Scott Kaplan & Jacob Lefler & David Zilberman, 2022. "The political economy of COVID‐19," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(1), pages 477-488, March.
    10. Euijune Kim & Dongyeong Jin & Hojune Lee & Min Jiang, 2023. "The economic damage of COVID-19 on regional economies: an application of a spatial computable general equilibrium model to South Korea," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 71(1), pages 243-268, August.
    11. Elizabeth Pambuena & Antonio R. Yango, 2023. "The Lived Experience of the Faculty of Polytechnic University of the Philippines in the Implementation of Flexible Technology- Enhanced Learning (Flextel)," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 44(1), pages 241-252, June.
    12. Giampaolo Garzarelli & Lyndal Keeton & Aldo A. Sitoe, 2022. "Rights redistribution and COVID-19 lockdown policy," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 5-36, August.
    13. Lea-Rachel Kosnik & Allen Bellas, 2020. "Drivers of COVID-19 Stay at Home Orders: Epidemiologic, Economic, or Political Concerns?," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 4(3), pages 503-514, October.
    14. Ben Balmford & James D. Annan & Julia C. Hargreaves & Marina Altoè & Ian J. Bateman, 2020. "Cross-Country Comparisons of Covid-19: Policy, Politics and the Price of Life," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 525-551, August.
    15. Makridis, Christos & McNab, Robert, 2020. "The Fiscal Cost of COVID-19: Evidence from the States," Working Papers 10702, George Mason University, Mercatus Center.
    16. Alexander Ahammer & Martin Halla & Mario Lackner, 2023. "Mass gatherings contributed to early COVID‐19 mortality: Evidence from US sports," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(3), pages 471-488, July.
    17. Augeraud-Véron, Emmanuelle & Fabbri, Giorgio & Schubert, Katheline, 2021. "Prevention and mitigation of epidemics: Biodiversity conservation and confinement policies," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    18. de Mello-Sampayo, F.;, 2024. "Uncertainty in Healthcare Policy Decisions: An Epidemiological Real Options Approach to COVID-19 Lockdown Exits," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 24/01, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    19. Meral Kagitci, 2020. "The impact of COVID – 19 on the stocks’ yield from the pharmaceutical sector," Journal of Financial Studies, Institute of Financial Studies, vol. 9(5), pages 58-71, November.
    20. Gu, Jianqiang & Yue, Xiao-Guang & Nosheen, Safia & Naveed -ul-Haq, & Shi, Lei, 2022. "Does more stringencies in government policies during pandemic impact stock returns? Fresh evidence from GREF countries, a new emerging green bloc," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:23:p:12462-:d:688780. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.